


Coverup

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Bets, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Meet-Ugly, R/S Fix It Fest 2019, Tattoo Artist James, Tattoo Artist Sirius, accidental tonks bashing, some totally professional betting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:12:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Do you take drop-ins?“Depends on what you’re getting,” Sirius shrugged. The man fumbled around in his hoodie pocket for a second.“Just a name,” the man said, then dropped a piece of paper on the counter and unfolded it. Sirius looked at the paper for a second. It saidDora,in a messy scrawl, and Sirius nodded slowly.“Yeah,” he nodded. He didn’t usually take drop-ins. Like ever, at all. But he had nothing better to do, and it would be quick. “I can do that,”-Remus comes in for a tattoo, then comes in again a month later for a new one.





	Coverup

**Author's Note:**

> written for the R/S Fix It Fest
> 
> huge thank you to my beta, [purlechimera ](https://purplechimera8.tumblr.com/), for making this legible and hyping over it when i felt like it got too boring or stiff

Sirius stared down at his supposed design, tapping his pen against the counter. The client wanted a tree of life, the single handedly most boring tattoo anyone could ever want. He’d drawn down the branches and a small swing, and now he was stuck. 

It was rather calm in the studio; James was sitting behind his curtains with a client, talking quietly over the buzz of the tattoo machine. The client had also requested Queen to play from the speakers. It was the best circumstances for designing, really. Just enough background noise to keep Sirius’ mind occupied, but not too much so that he couldn’t concentrate.

It was just that his client wanted a goddamn tree of life. She didn’t even want to make it interesting with watercolour or some small designs worked into it, not even a goddamn half moon. Just a stupid tree with a swing on it. And it was just  _ so boring  _ to draw. 

Sirius wanted nothing more than just go out and have a cigarette, but it was only him and James in the studio, and he couldn’t leave him all alone.

So Sirius remained behind the counter, glaring down at the sketch.  _ If he could just…  _

The bell above the front door jingled, followed by a slight breeze and Sirius looked up just in time to see a man his age walk in. 

“Morning,” Sirius smiled and sat up a little straighter. The man gave an awkward wave as he approached the counter. Sirius eyed him up and down. He was tall, but slouching a little so he appeared a tad bit shorter. He was dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans, and had a faint, slightly lopsided smile. 

He was cute, Sirius thought, attractive, even.

“Er, hi,” he said, his eyes flicking around the room for a moment before he looked straight at Sirius. “Do you take drop-ins?”

“Depends on what you’re getting,” Sirius shrugged. The man fumbled around in his hoodie pocket for a second.

“Just a name,” the man said, then dropped a piece of paper on the counter and unfolded it. Sirius looked at the paper for a second. It said  _ Dora,  _ in a messy scrawl, and Sirius nodded slowly. He thought it was rather stupid to get name tattoos — they could change their names or you could fall out of touch, so Sirius usually refrained from doing them. But right now he wanted to just take a break from this damn tree of life and do something else.

“Yeah,” he nodded. He didn’t usually take drop-ins. Like ever, at all. But he had nothing better to do, and it would be quick. “I can do that,”

The man let out a rather shaky breath and nodded, “Great. So uh, what’s the process and stuff?”

Sirius rose to his feet and opened a drawer behind him, “Some paperwork, I’ll trace the name, clean and shave the area you want it on and then we’ll start, basically,” he pulled out a piece of paper then grabbed a pen. 

The man nodded again.

“First,” Sirius said. “What’s your name?”

“Remus,” the man replied. “Remus Lupin,”

“Alright Remus,” Sirius sat down again. “Where do you want the tattoo?”

Remus pulled his sleeve up and pointed at the inside of his wrist, close to his hand. Sirius nodded slightly and handed Remus the signing paper and pen. 

Remus scribbled a little, then gave the paper back to Sirius. Sirius gave a slight smile and studied Remus briefly, he had dark green eyes, tawny hair that was cut into an undercut, with some curls flopping over his forehead. 

Sirius grabbed the paper where the name was scribbled. He stood up again and gestured for Remus to follow him to his station.

“Have you gotten a tattoo before?”

“Yeah,” Remus nodded slightly as Sirius sat down on his spinny stool. Sirius gestured for him to sit down on the chair.

“Whose name is it?” Sirius asked as he got out a stencil paper. “Mum? Sister?”

“Girlfriend.” 

Sirius stilled and winced. Getting a name tattoo was, in his opinion, stupid. Getting your partner’s name was by far even more stupid.

“Are you sure?” Sirius asked carefully. “You could break up or something, it would be a downer to keep their names on your wrist forever.”

“We’ve been together for two years,” Remus said. “I think it’s going to last.”

Sirius took a deep breath, “I usually don’t do name tattoos, so I’m gonna ask again; Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Remus nodded. Sirius grimaced, but nodded nonetheless.

“You want to keep the font or do you want cursive or something?”

“No, it’s her handwriting,” Remus said. “So I’ll keep it.”

Sirius had to bite down another wince as he copied down the name, then moved to Remus to prepare his right wrist for the tattoo.

“Where’s your other tattoo?” Sirius asked without looking up from where he was shaving the wrist.

“My shoulder,” Remus replied. “It’s a moon. Kinda badly done, but it’s there.”

“Hm…” Sirius hummed and placed the stencil on the wrist, pressing it on. “Was it done professionally?”

Remus cleared his throat awkwardly, “No, my friend had a tattoo gun, and we just… Went to town.”

Sirius gave a light chuckle, “As long as it was done safely, I guess.”

Remus nodded mutely.

He pulled the stencil away and began setting the machine and inks up, “Do you like the placement?”

“Yeah.”

“Great,” Sirius smiled and pulled the gloves on. “And you’re still sure about having your partner’s name?”

“Yes,” Remus sounded mildly annoyed, but Sirius disregarded it. 

He held in a sigh as he started up the tattoo gun. He really just wanted to make sure, mainly so he wouldn’t get the blame  _ if  _ Remus regretted it. 

Sirius liked tattoos and tattooing, loved it even. He loved drawing, he loved their studio, and interacting with the people he tattooed. How each of them had different backstories or backgrounds that tied into the tattoo, or how some of them were impulsive and just needed a change. 

“So,” Sirius said. “What’s your girlfriend like?”

“Energetic,” Remus said. “She’s all over the place all the time, doing different things.”

Sirius hummed as he carefully wiped away excess ink, and Remus continued, “We’ve been together for so long, like we were friends before we got  _ together _ , and I really can’t imagine myself without her.”

Sirius nodded, “I’m like that with my best friend,” he smiled softly and cleaned up Remus’ wrist entirely, then he looked up. “All done.”

Remus looked down at his wrist and inspected the tattoo. He grinned widely, and without looking up he let out a rather gleeful sounding, “Thanks.”

Sirius smiled, “It’s no problem. Do you want a sheet with aftercare instructions, or are you good?”

“No, I’ll have a sheet, thank you,” Remus said, finally looking up. Sirius nodded and wrapped some plastic wrap around Remus’ wrist, then handed him a paper of aftercare instructions.

Sirius led Remus back to the counter, where he briefly went over aftercare as Remus paid, then gave a friendly smile as Remus walked out the door. 

Sirius slumped down in his seat again, picked up the pen and stared blankly down at the work-in-progress tree of life. 

He just stared. And stared. And then stared some more. And then he gave up. 

Sirius let out a long groan, then banged his head down on the counter, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn’t stop thinking about the damn name tattoo, and how  _ stupid  _ it was. He could bet at least twenty pounds that it would take two months, tops before Remus would come back, asking for a coverup. 

James and his client emerged from behind the screen. Sirius sat up properly and moved to the side so James could take care of the payment and aftercare. Sirius tuned out their conversation and scribbled on a separate piece of paper, instead of just staring mindlessly on his sketch. Maybe,  _ maybe _ , he could bet with James on how long it would take until Remus came back.

Sirius stared after the client, and as soon as the door closed behind her, he turned to James, “Hey, Prongs?”

“Yeah?” James stacked a few papers on top of each other and pushed his glasses up.

“I had a bloke come in for a drop in,” Sirius said. James just hummed. “A name tattoo," Sirius added.

James stilled, “Well, that’s rather stupid.”

“Indeed,” Sirius nodded. “Especially considering the fact that it was a  _ couples  _ tattoo.”

James looked up at him, “Why did you let him get it?”

“I was bored,” Sirius shrugged. James frowned at him and opened his mouth to argue, but Sirius held his hands up to stop him. “He was very insistent!”

James quirked a brow, but didn’t say anything, so Sirius continued, “So… I was wondering if you wanted to bet on how long it’ll take until he comes back.”

There was a glint in James’ eyes that he quickly blinked away, “We can’t bet on clients, Pads.”

Sirius pouted and went back to his scribbling, “You’re no fun when you’re being professional, you know that, right?”

James snorted, “Do you want me to snort a line of cocaine before every client? Spice things up a little.”

Sirius laughed and looked back up, “It would certainly be interesting, but this isn’t about hard drugs. It’s just twenty pounds and a bloke with a name tattoo.”

James just shook his head as he let out a little chuckle, then returned to his papers. Sirius sighed, then began scribbling again. An eye, a cartoon deer standing on its hind legs, a semi realistic dog — anything to avoid the goddamn tree. 

James was silent for a solid two minutes before he slammed the papers down on the counter, “Fine.”

Sirius looked up at him, grinning a toothy grin, with one eyebrow quirked. 

“Fine,” James repeated. “Twenty-five pounds says that he’s back in about two months.”

Sirius turned a page in his notebook, “I think a month.”

“A month is way too short,” James crossed his arms over his chest, but he was grinning too. 

“Well, if it is, then twenty-five pounds are yours,” Sirius said, then began writing in the notebook.   
  


_ Remus Lupin, coverup tattoo _

_ Sirius: 1 month, £25 _

_ James: 2 months, £25 _

_ Sirius is obviously going to win fuck you Prongs _  
  


James peered over Sirius’ shoulder to read the note, then made a rather scandalised sound and swatted Sirus’ arm. 

“Dickhead,” James muttered, then turned back to his papers. “If I don’t win I’m gonna fucking riot.”

 

***

 

Remus didn’t come back the first three weeks, and Sirius found himself staring at the door every few minutes, even though he was starting to give up hope about his 25 pounds.

He was fairly sure that he only wanted Remus to come back so he could get his money, but there was something nagging him in the back of his mind, telling him that maybe he just wanted to see those tawny curls and freckled nose again.

James seemed rather confident in his bet, and kept grinning at Sirius as soon as the latter pouted at the door. 

It almost felt as though he was pining but without the intense feelings, because maybe Sirius  _ did  _ want to see Remus again, and not only cover up his tattoo. Perhaps Sirius wanted to have a longer conversation with him, maybe he wanted to go on a weird date with him. Perhaps he was just lonely. 

“You really want your twenty-five pounds, don’t you?” James asked once they were nearing the fourth week, and Sirius was once again staring at the door. 

“What?” Sirius turned to face James. 

“You really want your money, don’t you?” James repeated. Sirius shrugged and looked down at the new sketch he was working on. 

“I guess,” he mumbled, then clicked his pen a few times before he started sketching again. 

“You guess?” James frowned. “You keep staring at the door like a lost puppy, you  _ have  _ to want the money.”

Sirius just shrugged again, “It’s only twenty-five pounds though, innit?”

“But if you’re not excited about the money, then why are you staring at the doo-,” James cut himself off. “Ohh.”

“What?” Sirius didn’t look up, but sketched a bit more aggressively.

“You think the bloke was fit,” James said. It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement. Sirius almost winced. 

“Maybe.”

James snorted and clapped Sirius on the back, “Get a Tinder account instead of staring longingly at the door.”

“I’m not staring  _ longingly  _ at the door, I’m just… Waiting,” Sirius said defensively. James laughed, and as if on queue, the bell above the door rang. Sirius’ head whipped up, and there he was. 

Remus, with his tawny curls, freckled nose and hunched posture. He walked up to the counter, his face set in a glare.

Sirius pressed his lips together to stop himself from grinning, then gave an awkward cough, “Back again, are we?”

Remus tugged down his sleeve before slapping down a piece of paper on the counter, then he raised his finger at Sirius, pointing right at him. “Don’t you dare say anything.”

Sirius wanted to laugh, but instead he just coughed again. James looked between Sirius and Remus, then he coughed awkwardly too. 

“So,” James said. “Is this the infamous name tattoo guy?”

“Yup,” Sirius couldn’t help but to grin. James clapped Sirius’ shoulder.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” James said, then he grabbed his stack of papers and disappeared behind the screen walls by his station. Sirius bit his lip and looked back up at Remus.

“Welcome back.”

Remus glared at him, his jaw jutting out a little, but Sirius couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

Remus took a deep breath, “Do you have time for a drop in?”

Sirius snorted despite himself. He still had his somewhat strict  _ no drop ins  _ policy, but he did have time to do something as he didn’t have any appointments for the rest of the day, and he could make another exception. For Remus. 

“What did you have in mind?”

Remus unfolded the piece of paper he’d slapped down on the counter, showing a sketch of a silhouetted tree line. Sirius frowned.

“That might take some time,” Sirius said. “Lucky for you though, I’m free today.”

“Great,” Remus muttered. 

Sirius handed him the paperwork, and they went through the same procedure as last time. Though Sirius felt incredibly smug this time around.

Once Remus were done, Sirius grabbed the papers and led Remus to his station, then sat down on his spinny stool. Remus sat down in the chair and tore up his sleeve, glaring down at the somewhat fresh tattoo there. Sirius inspected it for a second, then turned around to his desk.

“At least you took good care of it,” he said, grabbing a piece of stencil paper. Remus huffed. 

“Yeah, didn’t want to get an infection.”

Sirius hummed, “Are you happy with the sketch or do you want me to touch it up?”

Remus shrugged, “I really don’t care. Does it need touching up?”

“Nah,” Sirius said, inspecting the sketch. “No, I think this works.”

“Alright then,” Remus said. “I just want to cover it up.”

Sirius hummed, copying the sketch down. “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Remus was quiet for awhile, and Sirius was scared that he’d overstepped until Remus cleared his throat. “She cheated on me.”

Sirius was just about to push himself towards the stencil printer, but stilled. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I guess,” Remus said. “There’s nothing I can do about it now, anyways.”

Sirius hummed as he grabbed the stencil, then turned to Remus, “I suppose you’re right.”

He grabbed his supplies, then set to work on Remus’ wrist. 

“The worst part is,” Remus said bitterly. “That she denied everything. Like I literally walked in on her shagging another girl — one I was friends with, might I add — and the first thing to come out of her mouth was ‘It’s not what you think’.”

Sirius frowned again, and Remus continued, “I told her to get out, and I was just so  _ fucking  _ pissed, that I considered just chucking her shit out on the street. But at the same time I felt hollow, like she’d carved my stomach out, so I went and got hammered, fell asleep on the sofa and then talked to her the next day.”

Remus let out a bitter laugh as Sirius started up the tattoo gun, “And she just kept denying everything. I got her fucking name tattooed on my wrist, I  _ saw her  _ shagging someone else, and she still had the fucking guts to try and deny it.”

Sirius hummed, “If I were the one dating you I wouldn’t have denied it like that,” it slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. “But I mean, maybe she denied it because it was a girl she was shagging.”

Remus huffed, “We’re both bisexual, so I couldn’t give more than two fucks about that.”

“Oh,” Sirius said. “Well, again. If I were the one dating you I wouldn’t have denied it like that.”

Remus let out another bitter laugh. Sirius almost wanted to cringe at the sound, but instead he just kept filling in the silhouetted tree line that was starting to grow on Remus’ wrist. 

“I mean,” Sirius continued. “It’s useless to deny something that you’ve already seen, you know?”

“Yeah,” Remus nodded and ran his free hand through his hair. 

“Don’t move so much,” Sirius said. 

“Sorry,” Remus mumbled. “I’m just… Fine, she cheated on me, she probably thought I was lacking or something, what the fuck do I know? But then refusing to even talk about it? Who does that?”

Sirius shrugged and redipped the needle in the ink, “When did you break up? If you’re comfortable with telling me, of course.”

Remus mumbled something very quietly and looked out the window, his cheeks tinted pink.

“Sorry?” 

“Three weeks ago,” Remus muttered. Sirius snorted. 

“You put off coming here for three weeks?” 

“Well… Yeah.”

Sirius laughed again, and continued with his work. It was started to take form, and it looked good. Shorter, completely blacked out trees in the foreground, and taller, more sparse trees in the background. Sirius was proud of it, and he hoped Remus would like it.

They were silent for a while, Sirius was too busy to come up with something interesting to say, then Remus cleared his throat, “What else would you do if you were dating me?”

Sirius almost dropped the tattoo gun. He spluttered and looked up at Remus, “What?”

Remus was blushing, and he shrugged with his left shoulder again, “Yeah. Would you take me out on a dinner? Hike in the woods?”

Sirius laughed and winked at him, “I have an extra twenty-five pounds coming in my paycheck, so why don’t you wait and find out?”


End file.
